China's fifth plenum expected to re-emphasize issues of reforms: expert

ABUJA - The fifth plenum of the Communist Party of China, which kicked off in Beijing on Monday, is expected to re-emphasize issues of reforms in all areas and, especially to deepen economic reforms, an expert on Sino-African affairs, Charles Onunaiju, said in an exclusive interview with Xinhua.

The four-day high-level meeting, which will hold till Thursday, is poised to be a sober occasion that will afford leaders of the East Asian nation an opportunity to review the previous road-map and then draw up a new one, the Nigeria-born expert said in Abuja.

"This is very significant at a time when China's economy is entering what is called neo-normal. It is readjusting its structure, de-emphasizing the traditional drivers of the economy and then emphasizing new sectors," he said, noting China is not looking back as its reforms are going to be the operational language for the growth of the country.

From oil to steel, to soya beans and all of these, China has played a big role in stabilizing the global prices of commodity products. However, China has seen a 6.9 percent growth rate as against much faster growth previously but this, according to Onunaiju, is understandable, given the adjustments that the country has made in recent years.

Despite harsh predictions from analysts who opined that the slowdown in China's economy might cause a hard-landing or crash, the expert said the slowdown was not negative.

"We saw a gradual slowdown and this slowdown is not abrupt, it is as a readjustment of key fundamentals in the Chinese economy," he said.

"China is gradually entering a post-industrial state where it is not just driven by exports relying on the vagaries of the international market, but now have built a competent domestic market," he said, adding "if you have a guaranteed domestic market, you are going to be less affected by the fluctuations in the international market," said Onunaiju.

He said, in his own opinion, China will continue to make contributions to the global economy as it strengthens its new fundamentals or what is referred to as "neo-normal."

With a view that China contributed 30 percent to global growth as at the first six months of the year, the Abuja-based expert said he is optimistic that Beijing is going to be more central to global economic growth and will further play a more pivotal role in driving the economy as deliberations continue at the plenum this week.

Talking further about his expectations from the high-level meeting in Beijing, he said the plenum is most likely going to deal with some certain subjects relating to social reforms, especially internal migration and registration of residency.

"Relaxing the rules on internal migration, finding jobs from one province to the other will enhance further social stability. I think these are some of the key issues the plenum may be addressing," he said.

All in all, the expert said he is optimistic that this year's plenum will be one of the most fruitful decision-making events in recent Chinese history.